Rose made it to her room without being disturbed by any of the customers already coming inside the brothel. She was surprised to see how late it was now since it was noon when she left with the other women to stroll through the town.
She had been unconscious for hours, dreaming of a field that she didn't know whether it was real or fake.
Rose's unconscious state had led her to miss taking food from the kitchen to have something to fill her stomach and she didn't know where the apple she had bought was now. All she had to try to make it through the night was water.
Rose pressed her back against the wall, the small knife pointed toward the door. Even with what happened today with Mathias and Graham, Rose had not forgotten what she overheard between Silvia and Jonathan.
Jonathan had to be crazy to want to attack her when Graham wasn't looking, but Rose had always known there was something wrong with him.
Unfortunately, Rose did not have any other places to hide other than her room so she had to defend herself should Jonathan or Silvia be foolish enough to come here.
Rose removed the cloth she had placed over the jar to keep the water protected. She lifted the jar, bringing it to her lips to take a long sip of the water.
In the distance, Rose heard the music start to play as the women were off to entertain the customers and laughter was heard. These two sounds alone had been torture over the years as she knew what was occurring not far away from her.
"I'm tired," Rose whispered.
She might have been unconscious but her body still felt weak. Mostly in the area where she had been kicked.
"Did he ignore me?" Rose wondered as the more it lingered, the more it started to feel that Mathias had done that whilst knowing who she was.
Rose knew that she was not mistaken that he had recognised her. She hadn't missed the way he looked at her like he was shocked to see her still alive. She didn't know his reasons for ignoring her but to go out of his way to kick her was too far.
She was already mocked and ridiculed when she walked around the town. Rose didn't need it from an old friend who knew why she was in this position.
Rose laughed, finding herself foolish to have expected anyone to come back to save her. Eight years had gone by and unless she made attempts to escape, there wasn't anyone to help her. Alexander and Mathias keeping the promise was all that she had left to remain positive but now that seemed to be gone.
Rose hugged her feet. Day by day, it was starting to feel unavoidable that she would become Graham's woman. She smiled, thinking herself strong for holding out this long.
"It is here," Rose heard a woman's voice from the other side of her door and she knew it had to be Silvia.
Graham might still be entertaining his guests so he wouldn't know what was being done here.
Rose stood up and quickly made her way to the window. Her door was locked but she didn't trust that it would stay that way forever.
Just as she reached the window, Rose heard the door open. She didn't look to see who entered as she kept her attention on the window she needed to go out of.
Without warning, Rose's hair was yanked and she was pulled away from the window.
"Where do you think you are going?" Jonathan asked, enjoying her cries as he pulled her away.
The door closed behind him as the whore who led him here didn't have any reason to stay. It was just him and Rose now. At long last, he would see what all the fuss was about.
Jonathan trusted the fact that Rose knew she was as good as dead if Graham were to learn that she laid with another man. So this visit which Jonathan wanted to make a regular habit was going to be kept a secret.
"Stop fighting," Jonathan advised Rose. No one was going to hear her scream. She was fighting to get his hand out of her hair butit was pointless.
Rose fidgeted with the knife that she still managed to hold onto and turned it around so she could properly use it. Rose didn't have the perfect aim as Jonathan tried to drag her to her bed but she lunged the knife behind her for it to stab Jonathan anywhere.
Despite what Rose thought when it came to hurting someone to protect herself, Rose had the strength to stab Jonathan.
Rose didn't have a clue as to where she had got him but she was relieved when he let go of her and stumbled back.
Rose dashed for the window and opened it to get out before Jonathan could come to and try to pull her back.
Rose was so frantic that she wasn't careful so her foot was caught on something causing her to fall out the window. She was lucky that she was on the first floor so she didn't have much of a nasty fall.
"You fucking whore," she heard Jonathan curse at her.
Why was she being insulted when he was the one trying to take advantage of her?
Rose was tired of what she had to put up with. She was long tired but now she had more strength than usual to try another attempt to get out of here.
She had nothing to lose other than her body should Graham catch her and lose his patience. That was already her fate as there wasn't anyone who wished to help her.
One of the lanterns being lit by a servant caught her attention and a good distraction came to mind. She didn't have a guard at the moment so she could slip out.
Rose got to her feet and ran to get the lantern.
The brothel was a terrible place which should burn to the ground. Hopefully, all the others like her could make a run for freedom and get far away from here.
"How much is a night with you?"
Rose ignored the calls from the men as she walked with the lantern toward where all the alcohol was kept in storage. If there was something men seemed to love more than women, it was alcohol so this should get their attention.
Rose hid as a servant went inside the storage to get a bottle and then snuck inside as soon as they left, unaware that someone had caught her sneaking around.
"Must they drink so much?" Rose asked herself, surprised by the many bottles she came across.
She knew that there were cheap bottles here for men who could not afford much but Graham was tricking them by saying he had high quality for little money and there was also alcohol Graham claimed to be of the highest quality.
Rose locked the door behind her so no one could enter during this and stop her.
She placed the lantern down and moved quickly to open a window which would be her way out. Rose then opened a bottle, pouring what was inside onto the floor and all the crates.